The Euskadour project to interconnect the French and Spanish gas pipeline networks in the Basque country is strategic for regional security of supply and optimization of the European Union gas market. However, it presented a number of environmental challenges, since the route crosses rivers and runs through a number of protected habitats designated under European Union or French legislation and wetlands that are home to protected species.

Taking a proactive approach upstream from the project, Total Infrastructures  Gaz France (TIGF) engaged in dialogue and built consensus with 111 farm owners and operators, nine municipalities and various government agencies, including the Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and the Environment (DRIRE) and the Regional Directorate for the Environment (Diren).

TIGF also looked at ways to reduce risks at all stages of the project, through waste treatment traceability, an emergency response team in the event of a leak or spill (definition of a detailed, kilometer-by-kilometer map of environmental requirements), and marking of higher-risk areas to remind front-line workers of the rules to be followed.